Most people have difficulty sleeping when air temperatures are high. At present, the main solution to this problem is to use powered devices such as air conditioning, fans, etc., to cool air temperatures. Fans and air conditioning require electricity and are noisy.
The present invention solves this problem by using a fluid saturated foam filled container as a pillow insert. While others have designed pillows for various purposes, no one has developed a fluid filled container to conduct a person's or animal's lost body heat away from the body. The following patents are representative of the art.
U.S. Design Pat. No. 25786 (1896) to Stoll discloses a water bag pillow having a large central hole and a tube at each of its four corners. The four tubes serve as both inlets and outlets and are closed by stoppers. The present invention is filled with both foam and fluid and does not possess a large hole or cavity anywhere in its design.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,847,931 (1989) to Bard discloses a pillow with a thin water envelope contained in its bottom half. A dry compressible filler material lies between the pillow's top surface and the water envelope. The present invention does not contain an isolated internal water envelope. Fluid permeates the entire present invention which is placed on top of the pillow, rather than the bottom, so that heat transfer may occur between the insert and the sleeping person.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,896,388 (1990) to Bard discloses an alternative embodiment of U.S. Pat. No. 4,847,931 described above. The alternative embodiment uses a conventional pillow as the compressible filler material between the bottom water envelope and the top surface. The present invention does not contain an isolated fluid envelope, rather, fluid permeates the entire invention. Further, the present invention is placed on top of a pillow so that only a pillow case comes between the invention and the sleeping person.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,887,326 to O'Brien et al. discloses a crescent shaped neck pillow containing dry filling and pockets. The pockets receive gel packs which can be heated or cooled. The present invention is not a neck pillow and is permeated with cooling fluid which is used at room temperature. The fluid does not have to be externally heated or cooled.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,231,720 (1993) to Benoff discloses a pillow having an internal air bag for adjustable firmness. The present invention does not contain an air bag. The present invention is entirely filled with fluid saturated foam.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,908,893 to Smit discloses a beauty pillow with a concave area on its top surface to prevent pillow contact with delicate facial skin. An optional water, air or gel filled bladder can be substituted for conventional pillow stuffing material. The present invention is a fluid and foam filled container that can be inserted between a pillow and case and is not itself a pillow. The present invention does not contain a concave area and is filled with both foam and fluid.
In summary, the present invention overcomes the shortcomings of presently used pillows and powered cooling devices. Powered cooling devices are typically noisy and require electricity. The present invention cools a person noiselessly and without electricity by providing a fluid filled container which slides between the top of a pillow and the pillow case.
The container is entirely filled with a layer of porous foam which is saturated with ordinary tap water. The container temperature is initially lower than body temperature and remains so for several hours. The container cools a person by allowing convective heat exchange between a person's head and the water in the insert. This heat is passively dissipated to the surrounding environment. The water moves freely through the foam, therefore, "hot spots" do not occur and temperature remains uniform throughout the fluid container pillow insert. A pillow, without the present invention, traps body heat causing thermal discomfort and pillow flipping.
Further, the saturated foam prevents water leakage in case of a puncture, prevents noise by preventing waves, minimizing bubbles and acts as a weight sink to maintain the container's proper orientation on a pillow. The container can also be used with or without a pillow as a cooling pet bed to provide cool sleeping and resting conditions for animals and family pets.